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Lotad Line/RSE
Lotad can only be found in Sapphire and Emerald, on Routes 102 and 114. On Route 114, Lombre can also be encountered. Lombre can only be fully evolved after obtaining Dive. A Water Stone is available in the Abandoned Ship, in the area that requires Dive to be accessed. Further Water Stones may be exchanged with the Treasure Hunter near Mossdeep City for Blue Shards. The Sapphire counterpart to the one and only symbol of the Nuzlocke challenge! Which, in several ways, has it easier than its Ruby cousin, for reasons related to both typing and stats. While Shiftry is available sooner than Ludicolo, making Nuzleaf fall short for a proportionally smaller part of the game - at least theoretically - there is no doubt that Ludicolo has the upper hand over it in the last few fights. The typing offers it a virtual lack of weaknesses outside Flying, as Bug and Poison are not common as offensive types; in addition to that, it has good and well-rounded stats, with Special Defense being almost over the top, as it has no weaknesses on the special side. The downside? It takes a really long time for Ludicolo to actually become Ludicolo, and thus get good. Lombre fares badly in the majority of matchups until its evolution, and will be dead weight on several teams for a consistent chunk of the early and mid-game. If trained properly and kept alive throughout the evolutionary stages, however, Ludicolo is almost unstoppable. Important Matchups - Emerald = * Gym #1 - Roxanne (Rustboro City, Rock-type): Lombre OHKOs Geodude with either Absorb or Bullet Seed. Nosepass will be averagely KOed in 2-3 turns, depending on luck of the draw, though Lombre can also use Absorb to replenish its health during the fight. * Rival (Rustboro City, optional): Nature Power, which becomes Swift on plain terrain, KOs Lotad, Slugma, Treecko and Torchic in three to four hits. Mudkip is easy, but should be hit only if it is not using Bide, as the move will otherwise endanger Lombre if Bullet Seed draws a low number of hits. Wingull can 3HKO Lombre faster than its Bullet Seed can, so it should be avoided, as should Torkoal due to its combination of Curse and Smog. * Gym #2 - Brawly (Dewford Town, Fighting-type): Using Lombre in this gym is dangerous. Its Bullet Seed is only a 4HKO in the average case scenario (three hits each turn), and both Machop and Makuhita can use Bulk Up to reach 2HKO range with their Karate Chop and Arm Thrust, respectively. Meditite only knows Focus Punch as a damaging move, however, so spamming any attacking move until it goes down will work well; Bullet Seed is more powerful than Astonish if it hits three times or more. * Rival (Route 110): Lombre can beat the rival's Lombre with Bullet Seed, though it should not fight Slugma or Wingull, both of which outdamage it relatively easily; Astonish is about as powerful as Ember, but it can trigger Slugma's Flame Body. Grovyle and Combusken outmatch it with Fury Cutter and Double Kick respectively, though Marshtomp is easily disposed of with any Grass STAB; if it uses Bide, use non-damaging moves until it wears off: the aleatory nature of Bullet Seed damage may backfire otherwise. * Wally (Mauville City): Astonish 2HKOs Ralts easily; if Lombre no longer knows the move, it can still 2HKO with Nature Power-Swift, or 2-3HKO with Bullet Seed. * Gym #3 - Wattson (Mauville City, Electric-type): This gym is terrible for Lombre. Its Bullet Seed deals subpar damage and even the strongest move available to it at this point, which is Ice Beam, is outdamaged by Magneton's and Manectric's Shock Wave. Voltorb is 3HKOed by it, but it will likely Selfdestruct before going down, leaving a dead Lombre on its trail. Only Electrike can be 2HKOed safely. * Tabitha (Mt. Chimney): Ice Beam 2HKOs Poochyena and 2-3HKOs the two Numel, depending on Lombre's level. Zubat is OHKOed, and Lombre can survive a Wing Attack. * Maxie (Mt. Chimney): Mightyena averagely KOs in 4-5 hits, and Lombre in 3-4 with Ice Beam. Although Lombre has the upper hand in theory, Mightyena's Sand-Attack can subvert the matchup in practice; play carefully if Lombre's health is low. Zubat is 1-2HKOed by Ice Beam, but it can 2-3HKO with Wing Attack; Lombre may try to take it down, but if it does not succeed, it should switch out for safety reasons. Camerupt outdamages Lombre, although it may be defeated if some healing items are spent. * Gym #4 - Flannery (Lavaridge Town, Fire-type):'''Lombre has no hope against this gym unless it still knows Water Sport. The move allows it to take Numel's and Slugma's Overheat down from a 3HKO to a 5-6HKO, allowing Lombre's 3-4HKO Ice Beam (Numel) and Swift (Slugma) to outdamage it. Camerupt and Torkoal are essentially unbeatable even with Water Sport up, due to the sheer strength of their own Overheat; use another Pokémon against them. * '''Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): With the exception of Spinda, 3HKOed by Ice Beam, all of Norman's Pokémon are too strong for Lombre, which should just avoid fighting them. * Shelly (Weather Institute): Bullet Seed 1-2HKOs Carvanha and Surf 1-2HKOs Mightyena. Mightyena's Swagger is the only potential threat for Lombre's health; beware when it is low. * Rival (Route 119): Pelipper's Wing Attack far outdamages Lombre's Ice Beam, but it can be used to 4HKO the rival's own Lombre, which is still not a threat. Surf destroys Slugma and 2HKOs Combusken. Grovyle and Marshtomp are 2HKOed by Ice Beam and Bullet Seed, respectively. * Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): All of Winona's Pokémon except Swablu kill Lombre in two hits with Aerial Ace. Aside from defeating the aforementioned Swablu, Lombre should not fight here at all; it may attempt to KO Tropius as well, with Ice Beam, but the OHKO is highly unlikely and Lombre needs to be healthy to take an Aerial Ace from it. * Rival (Lilycove City): Tropius is easily 2HKOed with Ice Beam, though both Pelipper and Ludicolo outdamage Lombre with Wing Attack and Nature Power-Swift respectively. Slugma is OHKOed by Surf. Giga Drain is also a 1-2HKO against Marshtomp, Surf 2HKOs Combusken, and Ice Beam 2HKOs Grovyle. * Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Ice Beam OHKOs Zubat, Surf OHKOs Numel and Camerupt and 2-3HKOs Mightyena; Lombre should, however, be wary of its Swagger, and preferably switch out if confusion kicks in. * Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Mightyena is averagely 3HKOed by Surf, and once again, it can Swagger its way to victory with hax. Do not risk its life needlessly. Camerupt is OHKOed easily, but Crobat should be avoided, as it 2HKOs easily with Wing Attack. * Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Again, Mightyena is easily 3HKOed with Surf, but might Swagger Lombre into self-inflicted oblivion in an unlucky case, so be wary of that. Golbat should be avoided for the umpteenth time. * Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Lombre has a hard time against the Claydol and Xatu duo; Claydol 3HKOs, and Xatu averagely 2-3HKOs, but Surf only KOs Claydol in three turns and Ice Beam is an uncertain 2HKO against Xatu, which also has Calm Mind as an option. It may be better for Lombre to not be in the lead, or it may needlessly slow down its battle partner as it tries to put up a fight. After the front rowers are gone, Surf will KO Solrock in two turns and Lunatone in three. However, Lunatone is also stronger, as it can 2-3HKO Lombre with Psychic; Solrock, instead, only 3HKOs. Lombre's battle partner should focus on either taking Solrock down the first turn, leaving only Lunatone to attack, or offing Lunatone before it can represent a threat, as its Calm Mind quickly increases the number of turns needed to defeat it. Hypnosis also exists, and can get in the way of the battle strategy. Lombre should hold a Chesto Berry, if available. * Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): Surf OHKOs Tabitha's Camerupt and disposes of Mightyena in 3-4 turns on average. Lombre can continue fighting while the two Mightyena are out, providing it pays the due attention to their Swagger; it is even less predictable in double battles than it would be in singles. Still, Lombre is unlikely to manage much more in this battle, as Golbat and Crobat will both send it home crying; it can, however, switch back in to KO Maxie's Camerupt if still above half health, as that much will allow it to take a Rock Slide before taking down the last Pokémon. * Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Giga Drain OHKOs Sharpedo and Surf 2HKOs Mightyena, which is now less likely to outspeed, as both Mightyena and Ludicolo have the same base Speed. * Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Mightyena is easily 2HKOed by Surf. Crobat's Air Cutter can kill with a critical hit, and 2HKOs even without, so Ludicolo's Ice Beam cannot hope to outmatch it. Conversely, Sharpedo is 1-2HKOed by Giga Drain, and its main threat is the annoying-at-best Swagger. * Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Ludicolo 1-2HKOs Luvdisc and Whiscash with Giga Drain, which also 2HKOs Sealeo and Crawdaunt. Kingdra and Ludicolo both 4-5HKO each other with their respective Ice Beams; Ludicolo, however, can opt for Giga Drain instead, if it still has enough PP left to fight: it will give it the upper hand through HP recovery. This assumes that Ludicolo will be able to hit, however, which is not guaranteed with Kingdra's Double Team. * Wally (Victory Road): Depending on Ludicolo's level and stats, Ice Beam may or may not be a guaranteed OHKO against Altaria; two or more levels of advantage will, however, give it a reasonable certainty of OHKOing. In the event of no OHKO, Ludicolo can still take an Aerial Ace, which only 3HKOs without any Dragon Dances backing up Altaria. Surf also easily 2HKOs Delcatty and Magneton, and Ice Beam 2HKOs Roselia. Ludicolo is better off not fighting Gardevoir; its higher Speed and good special bulk will likely allow it to Calm Mind first, guaranteeing a Psychic 2HKO and taking next to no damage from Ludicolo's moves. * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Both Rain Dish and Swift Swim Ludicolo will benefit from using Rain Dance on the first turn of this matchup. The 2HKO Surf would normally score against Mightyena and Absol becomes an OHKO under the rain; Giga Drain can also OHKO Crawdaunt. Cacturne and Shiftry are respectively OHKOed and 1-2HKOed by Ice Beam. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): Once again, Rain Dish and Swift Swim specimens alike will benefit from starting off this fight with Rain Dance. Under the rain, Surf takes one less turn to KO everything on Phoebe's team: the two Dusclops, normally 3HKOed, will be 2HKOed instead, whereas the two Banette and Sableye go from being 2HKOs to straight up OHKOs. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Since Glacia herself is a weather user, do not bother setting up Rain Dance in this battle. The first Glalie is 2HKOed by Surf; Ice Beam is an average 3-4HKO against Ludicolo. However, the second Glalie is guaranteed to OHKO Ludicolo with Explosion, and it should not be fought. The two Sealeo are 2HKOed by Giga Drain, and Walrein is 3HKOed by it. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Ice Beam allows Ludicolo to 2HKO Shelgon and also OHKO Altaria, Flygon and Salamence. Kingdra does, however, outmatch Ludicolo due to having higher Speed and Dragon Dance, which it can pair with SmokeScreen to make it even more difficult for Ludicolo to hit. As Ludicolo's best move, Giga Drain, only manages to 4HKO Kingdra, Ludicolo should leave the battle to a Pokémon that can take it down faster. * Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): Ludicolo 2HKOs Wailord and 1-2HKOs Whiscash easily with Giga Drain, but cannot fight Tentacruel, which 2HKOs with Sludge Bomb. The mirror match against Wallace's Ludicolo is possible, although tedious due to its Double Team; still, Ludicolo's immunity to Leech Seed makes it a great candidate for this matchup, as it will only need some patience to whittle down Wallace's Ludicolo with Ice Beam. Ludicolo's Giga Drain also outdamages Milotic's Ice Beam, resulting in an average 3-4HKO versus its 4-5HKO (not counting Giga Drain recovery). However, it would take far too long for Ludicolo to also take down Gyarados, which would Dragon Dance it into oblivion in the meantime; pick a Pokémon with Electric coverage to fight against Gyarados, instead. * Post-Game: Within reason, Ludicolo is capable of fighting most special threats in the postgame. }} Moves Lotad's initial moveset consists of just Astonish and Growl. At level 7, it gets its first STAB move, Absorb. Then it gains access to Nature Power at level 13, which will most often turn out to be Swift, or Stun Spore if in the tall grass; it is not a bad move, especially for a line that gets very little in the way of STAB via level-up, and with low base power moves in general. Lombre then gets Fake Out at level 19; mildly useful for chip damage, but not much more. At level 25, it gets Fury Swipes, which is long past the point of usefulness either way. Water Sport, at 31, is something Lombre will only really want if it goes up against Flannery and has no better option to power down Overheat. At level 37, it gets the very belated Thief, not really useful at this point, then the even more useless Uproar at 43. This is around the time of the Tate and Liza battle, after which the first Water Stone of the game is unlocked; evolve Lombre as soon as possible unless Ludicolo wants Hydro Pump, as only Lombre learns it, and at level 49. This is the last level-up move the line gets. The underwhelming level-up moveset is entirely compensated by the great TM compatibility. An obvious choice is Surf, especially since the line gets no Water STAB whatsoever until the very late Hydro Pump. Ice Beam is another must, especially since it is the first and only high base power move the line will get access to until after Norman; later on, the Water STAB can be complemented by Giga Drain as well. On the special side, that's it; Ludicolo's Attack is also usable, though, making Brick Break another viable option. For support moves, Rain Dance is worth considering due to the welcome side effect of the ability, that can either give Ludicolo a welcome boost in Speed or grant it the equivalent of Leftovers recovery each turn, as well as a power-up for Water-type moves. Emerald players who love stall games, and possibly also have a Rain Dish Ludicolo, may also want to opt for Substitute as a tutored move, to go with the rest of Ludicolo's stall options. Recommended movesets: ''Standard: Rain Dance, Surf, Ice Beam, Giga Drain'' ''Stall (Rain Dish, Emerald only, requires breeding): Rain Dance, Leech Seed, Substitute, Surf / Giga Drain'' Recommended Teammates * Rock-types: Rock is the best type to complement Ludicolo with. Its most commonly found weakness is Flying, since neither Bug nor Poison are widespread; at any rate, unlike Electric- and Ice-types, Rock also provides an answer to Poison and Bug. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golem, Aggron, Lunatone, Solrock, Rhydon * Steel-types: Unlike Rock, Steel provides an entirely defensive answer to all of Ludicolo's weaknesses. Steel-types are not as common, but can be great defensive assets, particularly if their physical Defense is higher than Ludicolo's. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Aggron, Magneton, Skarmory Other Lotad's stats Lombre's stats Ludicolo's stats * What Nature do I want? Modest is the best, and Calm is also very good, as is about any Attack-lowering nature or whatever boosts Special Attack. Speed-boosting natures can also work well, and allow even Rain Dish Ludicolo to outspeed what it normally would not. * Which Ability do I want? Swift Swim is best, since it allows Ludicolo better chances at outspeeding many of the late game threats. Rain Dish is also good, though it will not benefit from getting Leech Seed as it is an Egg move, and that alone makes it a lot less appealing than it would otherwise be. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Before Roxanne or, at worst, right after, as far as the Lotad to Lombre passage goes. The Lombre to Ludicolo passage is only possible after the Mossdeep City gym has been beaten, which is sadly very late into the game; as all of Ludicolo's interesting moves can be learned via TM, there is no reason to wait any further. * How good is the Lotad line in a Nuzlocke? Bad in the beginning, great in the end. It suffers from being underpowered in a good chunk of the game, due to the stupidly late availability of the first Water Stone, as well as having a nearly nonexistent level-up movepool. If it survives until it reaches Ludicolo status, however, the match is set: almost nothing can kill it. * Weaknesses: Flying, Poison, Bug * Resistances: Ground, Steel, Water (x0.25) * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Ghost, Rock, Fire, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald